Carpet sweeper



Jan. 2, 1940- J. P. REDFEARN CARPET SWEEPER Filed March 51, 1937 2Sheets-Sheet l l l I I l l l l .1. P. REDFEARN CARP-ET swEEPER FiledMarch 51, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Patented Jan. 2, 1940 rire-NTorties CARPET SWEEPER `John Percy Redfearn, AccringtonLngland,assignorfto Entwisle & Kenyon Limited, Accrington, England ApplicationMarch 31, 1937, Serial'No. 134,024 ln Great Britain .May '7, 1936 2claims.- (o1. 15+@ This invention relates to carpet sweepers4 and moreparticularly to improvements yin means for opening the dust pans thereofand maintaining them in the open position of the type in which thespring controlling the pans is connected at its apex to a link or wireextending upwards through a slot in the top of the sweeper casing andpivotally attached to an actuating lever on the top of the'casing.

According to the present invention the apex of the two armed springoperating the two dust pans is connected to a link or a wire projectingupwards through a slot inthe top of the casing in which it canhave alateralmovement or the wire forming the spring is so bent that avertical portion is formed above the apex and is extended upwardsthrough the aforesaidy slot, the upwardly extending link or wire or theextension of the spring being pivotally attached to an operating arm orlever fulcrumed at one end 3 charged.

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which- Fig. l is a plan View of one end of a carpet sweepershowing the invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1 showing the dustpans closed.

Fig. 3 is a similar section to that shown in Fig. 2 but with the dustpans open for the discharge of the contents therefrom.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the operating arm or lever` when initsupright position.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on line 5 5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a detail View showing the connection between the :V shapedspring and the upwardly projecting lever.

Fig. 7 is a detail view of a modification showing the V shaped springconnected to the operating arm or lever by a wire.

Fig. 8 is a detail View of a further modification in which the V shapedspring is extended upwards beyond its apex to connect it to theoperating arm or lever.

The sweeper casing A, dust pans B, wheels C and brush D shown in thedrawings are all of the usual construction, the dust pans l2A beingpivotally mounted on pins b and connected together by a V shaped springD.

One end of an operating arm yor lever E is pivotally mounted in a`bracket a ai'ixed to the top of the casing A, the bracket being formedwith a refarmember ,al the edge of which adjacent to the fulcrurn pin e2of the lever E limits the pivoting movement of the latter.. A stop pinc3 is provided on the top of the casing A to prevent the lever E fromdamaging and wearing into the surface of the casing. A depending arcuatelink F (Figs. l `to 6) a bent wire F1 (Fig. 7) or an extension F2 of theV shaped spring D (Fig. 8) is pivotally mounted on a transverse pin orpivot e carried by the arm or lever E and passes through a slot a2 inthe top of the casing A, the link F or wire F1 being loosely connectedat its lower end.

to the apex of the V shaped yspring D. The slot a2 is sufficiently longto allow of the necessary lateral movement of the link F, wire F orextension F2. `When the link F (Figs. 1 to 6) is employed it is formedwith a projection f` having a slot f1 or hole therein in which theapexof the spring D is located whilst if a wire F1 (Fig. 7) is employedit is formed with a bent end or eye f2 to receive the apex of the springD.

The edge nearer the fulcrum pin 'of the rear membercl of the bracket aforming the stop from the lever E is preferably situated so far to therear of the pivot pin a2 on which the arm or lever E is mounted to allowthe arm or lever to pass beyond the vertical into the position shown inFig. 3 with the pivot pin. e on which the link F, wire Fl or extensionF2 is mounted beyond the dead centre of the apex of the spring and thefulcrum thereby preventing the dust pans B from. closingafter they havebeenropened except by operation of the lever E.l

The lever E is' preferably of channel shape as shown in Figs. .4 and 6with the pivot pin e extending across the two side members of thechannel, its free end a1 being suitably shaped and inclined to enable itto be engaged easily by the thumb or finger of the person operating it.

Two pins b1 projecting inwardly from the end of the sweeper casing A areprovided to form stops or abutments to limit the opening movemove inrelation thereto as shown in the drawings, one pan B will open beforethe other thus allowing the dust or litter to be discharged from one panat a time in a desired. direction. 1 When the lever E is movedto closethe dust pans B the downward pressure of the apex of the spring Dproduced by the tendency of the two arms of the spring to open willensure that the pans close properly and that the lever E returns to itshorizontal position. p

What I claim as my invention and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. Mechanism for operating the dust pans of carpet sweepers comprising acasing, a bracket affixed on the top of the casing, an operating leverpivoted at one end to the bracket, a member on the bracket to preventthe operating lever from pivoting beyond a substantially verticalposition, a V spring, dust receptacles to which the ends of the V springare pivotally connected, pivots for the dust receptacles` carried by thecasing, pins on the casing to prevent the dust receptacles from openingmore than a predetermined amount, a link pivoted by one end to theactuating lever intermediate its ends and depending through a slot inthe casing and means for attaching the apex of the V spring to the lowerend of the link whereby when the lever is raised to the substantiallyvertical position to fully open the dustpans the point of attachment ofthe link to sition, a V spring, dust receptacles to which the ends ofthe V spring are pivotally connected, pivots for the dust receptaclescarried by the casing, pins on the casing to prevent the dustreceptacles from opening more than a predetermined amount, an arcuatelink pivoted by one end to the actuating lever intermediate its ends anddepending througha slot in the casing and means for attaching the apexof the V spring to the lower end of the link whereby when the lever israised tothe substantially vertical position to fully open the dustpansthe point of attachment of the link to the lever passes the dead centreposition and prevents the dustpans from closing until operated again bythe lever.

JOHN PERCY REDFEARN.

